About Us

Our story

How Alnoor began

Alnoor’s journey began with a very simple moment at home.

One day, I asked my daughter in Arabic to bring me the coffee pot. She stood there looking at me, confused, and said:

Mum, what are you saying?

It was such a small moment, but it had a profound impact on me. I realised that our children were beginning to lose their mother tongue and, with it, an important connection to their language, culture and identity.

I decided that our community needed an Arabic school where our children could learn and maintain their language.

At the time, people told me that what I wanted to do would be impossible. But I believed it was important, so I persevered. I did my own research, worked through the challenges and eventually rented a small place where we could begin teaching children Arabic.

From that small beginning, the program continued to grow. Today, we teach a large and growing group of children Arabic, helping a new generation maintain a meaningful connection with their mother tongue and cultural heritage.

But Alnoor’s journey did not stop with language education. As we became more involved with families, we saw many other needs within the community. This led Alnoor to evolve into a broader charitable organisation supporting children, young people, families and people experiencing financial and social disadvantage.

What began with one mother wanting her daughter and other children to remember their mother tongue has grown into Alnoor Betterment Group Incorporated — an organisation now building relationships and partnerships with organisations across Australia, and beginning to expand its vision into international collaboration and charitable work.

— Aliaa Al Zayadi, President